Help my dog to stop pulling on the lead!!!

Hi all,

I would really like some advice getting my two year Labrador to stop pulling on the lead!!!

I have had so many conflicting stories in the past that I thought I would see what everyone else does.
I have tried a training lead which doesnt work with 4 stone of dog as you can't really let him out gently on it.

He is so excited when we go for a walk that I have relented to an expandable lead but i'd really like him to heel. Any tips?

Thanks Emma

Have you tried a control headcollar like a Halti?
I used one on my Lab only for a few weeks and then went back to a normal collar and she was fine. Though mine was more for control than straight pulling.
The thing is the more you pull the more they pull back so you need to do something about it!
Have you tried training classes??? They would help a lot and also improve your relationship as well.

Does your dog get time off the lead?? Labs need a fair amount of exercise and also need to be stimulated mentally as they are pretty intelligent!

Dogs pull because they have learned that we let them. It is totally a learned behaviour.
You need to teach your dog not to do it and that is a long and involved process...training aids like head collars and harnesses mask the problem and often create more of their own (although I do think for a lot of dogs that pull it is better to put them in a harness to avoid any problems with neck injuries).

I can't recommend this enough...no, it doesn't provide a 'quick fix' but yes it does provide sensible ideas and help. It si also an easy read.
http://www.canineconcepts.co.uk/item...og-pull---dogs

Easier dogs will give up their pulling with a few good snaps of the leash combined with a stern "Bad dog!". But you don't want to use any more force than you need. One gentle technique I like is to just stop when he pulls. He wants to go. If you move forward when the leash is slack, and stop when he pulls, he should quickly figure out the only way to get to go, is not to pull. This is about teaching him not to pull, not getting somewhere. The man that taught it to me said "If in a half hour you haven't made it out to the front walk, fine, you have taught him a lesson. Pulling the dog backwards is a good technique too.

Still, you may want to switch to a head collar. The leading brands are Promise, Haltie, and Gentle Leader. They have a strap going around the dogs nose looking something like a muzzle. They work by pulling the dogs head around. No other way gives you such great control with so little force. The prong collar is now a dangerous relic of value only for its macho looks, I think banned in the UK. Do not consider using one without hands on instruction from somebody with plenty of experience with them.

Flynn is nearly 3 and has always pulled like a train. I've tried harnesses, head collars, stopping and starting etc but nothing has worked. TBH, I dont have the time to spare to stick with that whole stopping and starting technique or turning around etc.

He started his gundog training again last week and the tip my trainer gave me has worked like a dream. She said to either have a stick or a lead and swing them just in front of you. If the dog pulls it risks getting it's nose knocked with the stick/lead so it learns to stay behind that point.

I have a walking stick which I use and it's done the trick. I know it's not going to be seen as politically correct on here because it's not reward based. But as far as i'm concerned, i'm not setting out to clout the dog with the stick, I simply swing it nonchalantly and Flynn takes his chances. It hasnt made him afraid of it or anything like that and it's giving me results, even off lead.

Oh no they won`t! Please don`t follow that piece of bad advice.
Haltis and harnesses will help, yes, but realistically, a determined dog can still pull in spite of them. The only thing I`ve found to work is to be as stubborn as the dog. When my dog(s) pull I change direction or turn round or walk backwards. You may well not get very far but eventually the penny will drop. This `drunken walk ` method confuses the dog, who then ends up following you rather than leading. Then you reward (praise will do) and set off where you meant to go.
I have an exciteable dog who will try to pull every time we go out, and I still have to do a few minutes of this - walking round lamp-posts, crossing the road, diving round trees - until she gets over herself. Your neighbours will think you`re nuts, but your arms will thank you for it.

Something worth a try with your lab is to have a fairly long leather lead and a plain buckle collar. Before you start walking, put (or drape) the lead over his head and across his chest and then take the two resulting parts of the lead into your hand with the dog on your left side. This has the effect of halving the lead and making a temporary harness which acts as a light restraint for the dog and takes pressure away from his neck into his chest. I use this frequently when my dogs are a bit excited and start to pull. The fact that the pressure is off the neck seems to work quite well and it also has the effect of keeping the dog close to your side. It does not make the dog heel, but it is considerably better than having the dog out in front and pulling like a train. Once he is walking quite well it is easy to slip the lead off the chest and use the lead normally. I have found that pressure on the neck seems to increase the desire to pull with my dogs. I first thought of it when one of my dogs took the lead into his mouth and I realised that he was not pulling anymore, but was carrying the lead instead. Have a go and see if it works.

Are you aware of the damage that can be caused to a dogs neck if you use the methods you have just suggested?

So he chooses for you to hit him with a stick...

To me, hitting him with the stick would be a determined and aggressive gesture by me when he pulls and I do no such thing. I dont even see it as a punishment.

The stick is simply swinging to and fro in front of us all the time, even when he isnt pulling so if he decides to pull and gets hit on the down swing then hard cheddar.

Liken it to riding a bike with your dog running alongside. If it runs in front and gets it's paws run over it's a lesson learned. You didnt deliberately run your dog over, it ran in front of you because it hadnt learnt the consequences.